PMP® Smartphone Apps to Know

Smart phones are providing value in an ever-increasing proportion of our lives. Amidst this progress, project managers are not forgotten. A growing breed of apps has utility, not only in obtaining the PMP® credential, but also in practicing project management both before and after the credential award. Study moments can conveniently be stolen while stopped in massive traffic jams, on public commutes, or even at the beach.

As with any tool, it’s important to know that the version you obtain is geared for the current version of the PMBOK® Guide. As of late 2013, the Guide is in its fifth version. Not all such products found on the Internet have been updated. If the site you’re looking at doesn’t make it clear, be sure to inquire. This is important because the PMBOK® Guide doesn’t just add new knowledge in each edition, but there are frequently changes from prior terminology, the number of Knowledge Areas and process groups, and even their names. Studying with the wrong edition could result in failure on the exam. Please note that different, outdated versions of products are listed on the Internet for these same companies, so be careful in your product selection.

In many cases, the prep-oriented apps can also be useful in obtaining the PDUs necessary to retain PMP status during the three-year credential term.

Let’s look at some of the exam-prep apps. Last, we’ll list one or more that you will want to avoid until they are updated to the late 2013 (again, fifth) edition. The apps are arranged cheapest first, beginning with those that have free versions. Note that some of the free versions are limited in completeness and offer upgrade options.

Free Apps (Some with Upgrade Options)

PMP® Exam Prep Guide

Free

For Android 2.2 and higher, PMP® Exam Prep Guide from KalpanaMani includes flashcards for all processes, convenient lookup of formulas and numeric ranges, and a notes section. Although the ad references the processes of the Fourth Edition of the PMBOK® Guide, the app has been updated.

PMP® Exam Prep

Free

For Android 2.1 and higher, PMP® Exam Prep from Pocket Prep includes more than 1,000 questions and 12 quizzes. Ipmt features videos and tutorials. The free version covers only the first two chapters of the PMBOK® Guide.

PMstudy’s PMP®/CAPM® Terms

Free

PMstudy’s PMP®/CAPM® Terms is free of charge, and, as the name implies, a “terms oriented” tool. For ease of use, the application works two ways: It can allow the user to select a term and find its definition, or it can give the definition and ask the user for the term corresponding to that definition. It requires Android version 2.2 or higher.

PMP® Exam Prep 1.0

Free

PMP® Exam Prep 1.0 from Xtreme eSolutions is free and available for Android smartphones.

PSA PMP® 5R / 5P / 5e

This developer provides three items of interest, listed here.

Free/$2.99/$5.99

PSA PMP® 5e (free) and PSA PMP® 5P ($5.99) are the lite and full versions of an exam prep tool for Android 2.2 and later. The 5e edition contains about 15 percent of the content found in the 5P edition. The Reference Tools include 600+ terms, 50+ acronyms, and 27 formulas. The 5P edition also contains PSA PMP® 5R, described next.

PSA PMP® 5R ($2.99) bills itself as being for the practicing project manager, but because it provides reference and search tools, it can be quite valuable to exam aspirants, as well. PMBOK® Guide processes that are critical to the exam are built on inputs, to which tools and techniques are applied to produce outputs (ITTOs). The product’s PM Reference Tools include 600+ terms, 50+ acronyms, and 27 formulas. Additionally, it includes new Process and ITTO Search Tools which enable you to search and identify all the processes that use a specific ITTO element (Input, Tool and Technique, or Output).

PMP® Exam Prep

Free/$2.99 per module

This Innate Images LLC product for both iPhone and iPad (optimized for iPhone 5) is available in four increments of 200 questions each (the number of questions on the live examination). Each module is priced at $2.99, or you can get all four for $9.99. Explanations are included for each answer.

PMP® Exam Prep Questions

Free

This Global Knowledge Training LLC app is updated each month with 100 multiple choice questions included. Immediate feedback is provided for each question. It’s for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

PMP® Exam Trainer Free

Free

This free app from DynamicApps GmbH is available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in English and German. It has both study and exam modes with a review option. It includes a subset of the full complement of 736 questions.

PMP® Exam Prep 1600 Questions

PMP® Mock Exam 100 Qns Free

Free/$29.99

TechFAQ360’s app includes 1,600 questions and is priced at $29.99. It allows selection of questions from 18 or more categories and features several full mock exams. A free version includes 100 questions in the form of two mock exams. It’s for Android 2.2 and up.

PMP® Exam 500+ from Oliver Lehmann

PMP® Exam (Free) from Oliver Lehmann

Free/$3.99

Oliver Lehmann’s PMP® Exam Free for Windows Phone provides 30 questions described as “complex in an exam-like simulation.” Detailed feedback and a pass/fail indication are included based on the limited question count. An alternative tutorial mode provides comprehensive explanations of the correct answers and references to the basis documentation for the questions.

PMP® Exam 500+, a companion application from Lehmann, is priced at $3.99 and provides more than 550 similar questions.

April 2013 reviews did report some incorrect answers. With such apps, the “trust but verify” approach on your part may be OK, so long as you don’t blindly accept the suggested answer. Having lots and lots of questions is an advantage in exam preparation.

Price Range $0.99-$7.99

My Project Management Professional (PMP®) Exam Prep App

$7.99

Available in the Windows Store My Project Management Professional (PMP®) Exam Prep App is for Windows 8 computers, laptops and tablets. The app simulates the real exam’s user interface in many ways, but provides feedback for answers after exam completion.

PMP® Exam Prep 2500+ Questions

$3.99

This Android app claims to feature more than 2,500 questions, but reviewers say the number may be much lower. At $3.99, the app could be considered worth the price given a large number of questions, except that some reviewers even question whether the questions are correct based on the Fifth Edition of the PMBOK(r) Guide. The bottom line: buyer beware.

Formulas PMP® Exam

$0.99

Shinil Paulose’s app for the iPhone and iPad is priced at $0.99 and covers formulas encountered on the exam. Their site claims that up to 30 questions from the set of 200 may be formula-related. The question levels are said to be either close to or above the exam question difficulty level. It includes detailed explanations of the formulas and answers, along with a preparation “cheat sheet.”

Price Range $19 and Up

cPrime PMP® PDU

$29.00

cPrime’s offering can provide eight PDUs. It works on both smart phones and tablets. More than 400 exam questions are included along with explanations and references to the PMBOK® Guide. Four mock exams are included, but it’s not clear whether these are each 200 questions in length. It’s available from both the Apple Store and the Android Marketplace.

iStudy PMP® Exam

$19.99

iStudy PMP® Exam – 335 Questions from Panacea Solutions is available in localized versions. Although downloaded many times, reviewer consensus is that it’s a nice application but a bit pricey when compared to the delivered value, and it apparently has some grammatical issues. It’s available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Products Apparently Not Updated for Current PMBOK® Guide

Xzams – PMP Sample from xazms.com

This website lists a number of very interesting exam prep products and they are still listed in the iTunes Store. Unfortunately, the material apparently has not been updated for the fifth edition of the PMBOK® Guide.